Brazil vs China: Primary energy from renewables

Brazil
1,124 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China
4,141 terawatt-hours
in 2025
Brazil rank
3rd
China rank
1st

Primary energy from renewables over time

  • Brazil
  • China
01.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k196519952025

How they compare

China currently reports 4,141 terawatt-hours against 1,124 terawatt-hours in Brazil, a difference of 3,017 terawatt-hours.

That makes China's figure about 3.7 times Brazil's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Brazil ahead.

Brazil ranks 3rd and China ranks 1st of 77 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Brazil averaged higher in 5 and China in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Brazil China Difference Ahead
1960s 29.17 terawatt-hours 22.02 terawatt-hours 7.15 terawatt-hours Brazil
1970s 81.2 terawatt-hours 39.03 terawatt-hours 42.17 terawatt-hours Brazil
1980s 224.46 terawatt-hours 88.59 terawatt-hours 135.86 terawatt-hours Brazil
1990s 350.6 terawatt-hours 172.05 terawatt-hours 178.55 terawatt-hours Brazil
2000s 469.54 terawatt-hours 435.99 terawatt-hours 33.55 terawatt-hours Brazil
2010s 748.68 terawatt-hours 1,436 terawatt-hours 687.66 terawatt-hours China
2020s 987.98 terawatt-hours 3,113 terawatt-hours 2,125 terawatt-hours China

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher primary energy from renewables, Brazil or China?
China, at 4,141 terawatt-hours against 1,124 terawatt-hours in Brazil as of 2025.
What is the difference in primary energy from renewables between Brazil and China?
3,017 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and China?
61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
How do Brazil and China rank globally for primary energy from renewables?
Brazil ranks 3rd and China ranks 1st of 77 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Primary energy from renewables. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Primary energy from renewables
Unit
terawatt-hours
Source
Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Smil (2017) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
82 places, 4,686 data points, 1965–2025
Last refreshed

Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.